Fallen Petals
by Ethelra
Summary: [On Hiatus] If she was ice, then he was fire. He was a playboy and she despised boys; to them love was foolish yet they had been childhood friends who had fallen in love. They met again five years later in their last year of high school, without knowing each other's identity and with dark secrets of their past to be divulged. SxS
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Odo-san, why is there a modern house in the middle of a forest? And why is that tree blooming with Sakura flowers even though it's summer?"

28-year-old Syaoran smiles at his daughter's funny questions and gazes at the Sakura tree at which she is pointing.

"Because this is magical place. Your Oka-san and I used to play hide and seek here when we were at your age."

The Sakura flowers glitter under the radiant sun as he ambles into the glass house with his daughter. Although the house has been left untouched for many years, the sweet aroma of Sakura still lingers the abandoned rooms. Syaoran walks into a tiny room with rose walls, embellished with framed photos of a family that once lived here. He carries his daughter up so that she can see the photos at which he is looking.

"Odo-san, is that you in this photo? You look so young!"

"Do you mean I look old now?" Syaoran teases and tickles her daughter.

"Sto-Stop it Odo-san! I was joking! You look handsome as always." She kisses his cheeks and glances at the photo again.

"Who's the woman beside you and the baby she's holding?"

Syaoran becomes transfixed at the woman's pair of gleaming emerald eyes in the picture and smiles.

"This woman is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen – no, the most beautiful woman in existence. Her name is… Sakura. And the baby she's holding is her daughter, which is you, Hikari." Syaoran then turns his head to Hikari. "You have your Oka-san's eyes, did you know that?"

Confused, Hikari contemplates at the photo again, focusing on the woman whom his father claims is her mother.

"But I only have one Oka-san, right? And my Oka-san is Meiling, isn't?"

"No, Hikari. Meiling is actually your Keibo. Sakura, the woman in this photo, is your real Oka-san, who gave birth to you in this house four years ago."

"No… No! You're lying! This woman is not my Oka-san! She wasn't the one who took care of me when I was really sick. She isn't the one who always cheers me up when I've done something wrong that makes Oiji-san and Obaa-san mad… Oka-san has always been by my side. I only have one Oka-san and she's… she's Meiling!"

Confounded by such sudden news, Hikari pushes her father away and runs out of the house and into the forest. Syaoran, who feels guilty for her reaction, lets her go and continues standing there, paralysed.

The tepid sun slowly submerges into the trees whilst a thin layer of cobalt begins to engulf the orange sky. A flock of birds flies over the forest; their tweeting and flapping noises awaken Syaoran from dwelling on the past memories. He then realises that Hikari has not returned, and immediately runs into the woods to find her.

"Hikari, Hikari!"

His desperate shouts echo in the empty forest as he scurries to different areas.

"Please be alright, Hikari! I've already lost Sakura. I can't lose you. _I just can't_."

He suddenly remembers the place where Sakura, the woman whom he still loves, used to hide when they played hide-and-seek.

"The Sakura tree. That's it!"

As Syaoran approaches the Sakura tree, he hears someone crying. _It must be Hikari._ When he finally arrives, he finds Hikari alone weeping behind the Sakura tree, with the Sakura petals falling placidly onto the ground.

Hikari sees Syaoran, standing beside her with a serene smile. She immediately clenches his legs, afraid of being alone again. Syaoran returns her hug and whispers, "I've finally found you. I'm glad that you're not hurt."

"I'm sorry Odo-san. I promise that I won't run away again… I was really scared that I wouldn't be able to see you again! I… I…"

"It's okay. Everything's fine now. Let's head back to the house and have a rest."

Hikari nods and lets Syaoran carry her behind his back; the two of them head back to the house that they just left.

When they finally arrive, Hikari has already fallen into deep slumber. Syaoran lays Hikari on a bed in which the three of them used to sleep. He places a blanket over her tiny body and sits on the bed. Looking her angel-like face, he strokes her auburn hair and gives out a heavy sigh.

He then walks towards a wooden shelf, pulls out a rusty music box, adorned with intricate flourish patterns, and places it on a dressing table. He opens the box with the key – he calls it the _ice key_ – which he has been carrying for the past four years. Inside the box lies a tattered diary, just as Sakura told him before she left him.

He blows the dust on the cover and opens the diary. To resist himself from shedding tears, he frequently clenches his fist as he reads the entries. When he has finished reading it, he takes out a notebook and a pen from his black leathered bag, and begins writing:

_Sakura, perhaps… perhaps I did not love you enough. Four years have passed and I still have not the courage to fulfil the promise I made to you. I fear recalling the memories we shared because they will only cause me more pain and guilt. I was ignorant, but you forgave me. It seems as though you're far away, yet I see you everyday through Hikari, our daughter, who has given me hope and a reason to continue on with my life._

_Here I am, writing in the notebook you gave me. You asked me not to cry while reading the diary you secretly kept, and indeed I did not. We went through so many trials and when we finally conquered them, god decided take you away from me. Although the time we spent together was short, the memories you left behind are eternal in my heart._

_I believe it is time to realise our promise and write the story of us, so that Hikari will someday be able to discover the truth and regard you as her real mother. Hikari will then pass our story on to her children, her children will pass it to the next generation and so forth. Our story will therefore never be forgotten, and my love for you will never perish…_

_For all these years, I tried to say the three words to you, but you never gave me the opportunity to do so. Sakura, can you hear me?_

_I love you._

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><p><strong>Author's note<strong>

Hello all! Thank-you for reading this prologue and I hope you enjoyed it! I'm really sorry for the mistakes I made! :( Please do review because I really want to know what you all think! Onegaishimasu! I don't know whether the story plot is good or not so I might not continue writing this story... This is actually my 1st fanfiction story so please forgive me for making so many mistakes! I re-edited this chapter because I've been on hiatus for soooo long. Anyway, arigatou! :)

- ethelra

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><p><strong>Definitions<strong>

Oto-san - Father

Oka-san - Mother

Keibo - Stepmother

Oiji-san - Grandfather

Obaa-san - Grandmother

Hikari - Light/Hope

Yuki - Snow


	2. Fairy Tale

**Chapter One: Fairy tale**

Mizuko came to them by sky. It was a hot summer afternoon and the two ten-year-old children frolicked in a hidden forest that they had discovered six years ago.

"Eighteen… Nineteen… Twenty! Ready or not here I come!"

Syaoran removed his hands from his eyes and began his search. Sakura, who had yet found a place to hide, wandered around the trees and decided to follow the faint tweet coming from somewhere near her. While strolling through the woods, she accidently tripped on a log and rolled over a knoll. Syaoran, who heard her scream, dashed through the bushes and found her ensconced behind a Sakura tree, with a tiny blue bird on her palms.

"Sakura, I've finally found you."

Startled by Syaoran's tender voice, Sakura turned her head and saw him standing beside her. She smiled and put her hands forward.

"Look Syaoran, I found a bird! He fell from the sky and landed on here. I think he's injured… his peers must be really worried about him. What should we do?"

He looked at Sakura's worried face, then at injured bird, which was crying helplessly on Sakura's palms. He knew that his vacation house was nearby and had all the materials he needed to treat the bird.

"Wait here. I'll get some medicine for him and be right back. Promise me that you won't go anywhere while I'm away, okay?"

"Syaoran, I want to go with you!"

Syaoran had lied to Sakura that he, likeher, was born in an ordinary middle-class family, for he feared that he would lose Sakura as a friend if she discovered his family's prestige and powerful social status. Hence he was resolute not to let her know that he had a vacation house situated in the outskirt of the forest.

"Sakura… you can't." Syaoran smirked, "Remember that I walk way faster than you do and you always trip when you walk. And you know that this bird needs to be cured as soon as possible. So wait for me here. Okay?"

Looking at Syaoran's firm and fiery eyes, Sakura understood she could not change his mind and acquiesced. He then left the forest, leaving her alone with the injured bird, whose sapphire feathers reminded her of the water that once flowed in a river located near her house.

"Mizu… Mizuko!"

The bird chirped at the name.

"You like it, don't you? I'll call you Mizuko then."

Sakura grinned at Mizuko's cheery tweet and caressed her back.

"Ne, Mizuki… I don't like waiting. I'm always the one who has to wait. Oto-san, Oka-san, and now even Syaoran…Why is it that all I can do is wait? I'm tired of it."

When Syaoran came back with a medicine box, Sakura had already fallen asleep under the giant Sakura tree. He sat behind the same tree and contemplated her fairy-like figure. Her snowy skin that gleamed under the sun only tempted him to touch it because he wanted to sense her existence. Nevertheless, he did not dare disrupt her slumber for he wanted this moment to last forever. While struggling with his ambivalence, he noticed pink petals falling from the giant tree above them. _Why are the Sakura flowers blooming in the middle of summer?_ He gazed at the pink and white Sakura blossoms. Beautiful and soft, the flowers resembled the girl in front of him.

Sakura yawned and rubbed her eyes. She had dreamt of a knight slashing twigs to obtain something, although she did not know what that thing was. When she opened her eyes, she saw the bandaged Mizuko on her palms with Syaoran staring at both of them.

"Syaoran…"

"Oh you're awake! I didn't want to wake you up because you were sleeping like a…" Syaoran chuckled, "…pig."

Sakura puffed her cheeks and hit Syaoran's head.

"And you snore like a cow!"

"Cows don't snore!"

"Yes, they do!"

The two laughed and chased each other around the Sakura tree. When Syaoran caught Sakura and clasped her arm, they both lost balance and fell onto the ground. Syaoran's body landed on top of Sakura's, albeit they did not touch. The two stared each other's face deeply. His amber eyes enthralled her – as if they existed to protect her - and produced a peculiar feeling of warmth that she could not find anywhere else. At the same time he looked at Sakura as though she was the sole beauty in the world. Her short ash brown hair matched perfectly with her pearl white skin. He placed his face closer to hers, enticed to kiss and feel her soft lips. Sakura closed her eyes tightly while Syaoran smiled and got himself up, giving her a hand. Annoyed that she got teased, she took his hand and pulled him towards the ground. The two lay on the flimsy grass with their arms and legs stretched out and gazed at the golden sky. Syaoran then slowly moved his right hand towards Sakura's left one and held it gently; she did not withdraw her hand.

"Syaoran, I named the bird Mizuko. She reminds me of the water flowing in a river that's near my house."

Syaoran grinned, "You always make up weird names."

"But Mizuko likes the name."

"How do you know that she likes the name?"

"Because she twittered!"

"Maybe she was saying that she doesn't like the name."

"She likes it."

Perhaps it was because everyone agreed to what Syaoran said at home, he always found Sakura's stubbornness charming. Sakura began humming a piano piece her father composed and frequently played. Her dulcet voice glided through the air, creating a peaceful ambience in the forest. Syaoran listened; only Sakura could produce such a beautiful melody because she was the sole one he knew who possessed an angelic voice. He reminisced his first encountering with her, which was six years ago – it had also been a scorching summer afternoon. Sakura had been alone in the woods. He remembered how he had instantly become enchanted by her emerald eyes. Yet, as much as her countenance resembled an angel his grandfather had once told him, her eyes always seemed hollow to him.

"Sakura, did I tell you how I found you in this forest?"

"No, but I remember that you thought I was lost when you found me."

"You were! You were alone in the middle of the forest!"

"I was picking up berries for my family…"

"Hmm, whatever. I found you by following your voice. You were singing the song that you're humming right now… What's the song called?"

"Fairytale. Oto-san made this song for Oka-san; he says that he and Oka-san are living in a fairy tale because they are living very happily together."

"Are we living in a fairy tale too, Sakura?"

Sakura grinned, "Maybe." She watched the pink Sakura blossoms above her being carried by the gentle wind. "The Sakura flowers are beautiful…"

"This doesn't make any sense. Sakura trees don't bloom in summer."

"Everything is possible. But people don't believe it, do they?"

Syaoran placed his arm into the air, his hand reaching for the golden sun that seemed within his reach, yet in reality was far away.

"I do, because I've already seen something that seems impossible to exist in this world."

Sakura smiled and the two continued enjoying their moment staring at the orange sky. From this day on, the Sakura tree became their favourite hiding place that they frequently visited.

A few days later, Mizuko left them by sky, leaving behind a trial of memories that they would recollect seven years later.

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><p><strong>Author's note<strong>

Thank-you for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and please do review! I really appreciate it and it really makes a difference for me since I still don't know whether I'm heading the right way or not... ugh. Anyway, arigatou! ;) I re-edited this chapter again after my looong hiatus! I'm really, really sorry for the mistakes I made! T_T Oh, and did anyone spot the connections I made between this chapter and the prologue?

- ethelra

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><p><strong>Definitions<strong>

Oto-san - Father

Oka-san - Mother

Mizu - Water


End file.
